Only 50 days before the Season starts!

[Anthony_Ferrari]

The A1 GP season that is. Will you be watching it? Is your country represented? http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpa...s_art_id=25463
http://www.a1gp.com/main.php?hf=Yes

WHAT IS A1 GRAND PRIX?

A1 Grand Prix is the first opportunity in any area of motorsport for nations to compete on a level playing field. It is a series where technology and innovation are deliberately equalised and performance is determined by human bravery, skill and excellence. Team and driver combine to create their advantage and the winning nation raises its flag in celebration.

A1 Grand Prix is more than just another motorsport phenomenon; it's an entirely new sport - The World Cup of Motorsport. Pitting driver against driver and country against country for the first time in history, A1 Grand Prix will bring together 25 nations representing 80 per cent of the world's population to actively compete on a level playing field.

A1 Grand Prix has created a new medium for national and international brands and organisations to promote themselves on a global scale. Through the World Cup of Motorsport, they can join forces with their national teams to be part of this unique sporting event.

The World Cup of Motorsport promotes countries and utilises the national patriotism instilled in every person on the planet not only attracting traditional motorsport and sporting fans but exciting anyone who is passionate about their heritage, country and population.


WHAT IS AN A1 GRAND PRIX EVENT?

A fast, exciting, adrenaline fuelled weekend full of entertainment in a glamorous and exclusive environment, affordable and accessible to all the family.

With three days of on-track action, an A1 Grand Prix event offers a rare opportunity for fans to interact with teams and drivers. Exclusively inclusive, The World Cup of Motorsport brings the thrill of international motorsport to billions of fans across the globe.

Taking in a mix of established world-famous venues, exciting new state-of-the-art facilities and tight twisty street circuits, A1 Grand Prix promises to deliver high-speed action at every turn.

An A1 Grand Prix event is a fast, exciting, adrenaline fuelled weekend in a glamorous and exclusive environment, affordable and accessible to all.

08/03/2005 - Silverstone, 3 August - At 9.51 this morning the first A1 Team race car took to the historic Silverstone circuit. A1 Team Great Britain was first on the track, and by the end of the day had recorded the fastest lap time at the first multiple test of A1 Grand Prix.

Commenting on the day, A1 Grand Prix Founder, President and Chairman Sheikh Maktoum said: 'It's been a successful first shakedown for A1 Grand Prix giving an exciting insight into the first World Cup of Motorsport. Fifteen countries were brought together and the competitive spirit of the teams has already begun to shine through with a friendly rivalry developing between them.

'Most drivers finished within two seconds of each other, proving that the original formula of identical cars with identical engines and tyres is the right solution. The feedback from the drivers has been positive, the seat holders are happy and we're looking forward to a great first race at Brands Hatch.'

Alan Jones, A1 Team Australia Seat Holder said: 'We have been very impressed, the reliability has been brilliant, there hasn't been a single glitch with any of the cars and that is a fantastic result which bodes well for the future. A lot of the cars aren't in their final livery yet but when they are it will look spectacular.'

Robbie Kerr, Driver for A1 Team Great Britain, said: 'Today went well, the team is gelling as a unit and we are working well together. There is a lot still to be gained out of the car and I'm still learning about my driving and how the car performs.' On recording the fastest lap of the day, he commented 'We have to be pleased that we recorded the fastest time today, but today is testing and we have to make sure that we carry this forward to the first race'.

A1 Grand Prix's Global Operations Manager, John Wickham said: 'It is testament to the huge amount of hard work put in by the teams and seat holders over the last couple of weeks that today's test session was such a success. We had 15 cars take to the national circuit and after a morning of technical checking, the cars ran totally reliably in the afternoon, producing very close competitive times. We'll move on tomorrow to another full day of testing when we expect the reliability to continue with some teams introducing new drivers to the Series.'

Fastest lap times and number of laps recorded:

Great Britain 48.888 57 laps
Brazil 49.069 67 laps
Switzerland 49.095 35 laps
France 49.271 41 laps
Portugal 49.393 68 laps
Pakistan 49.506 34 laps
Malaysia 49.634 40 laps
USA 49.740 48 laps
South Africa 49.864 42 laps
Lebanon 49.976 58 laps
Australia 50.066 52 laps
Mexico 50.265 44 laps
Netherlands 50.377 28 laps
New Zealand 50.610 59 laps
China 55.783 22 laps

Collectively, the 15 teams covered 1175 miles.

A1Team drivers:

Australia - Christian Jones
Brazil - Nelson Piquet jnr, Danilo Dirani and Joao Paulo Oliveiria
China - Qing Hua Ma and Tingyi Jiang
France - Loic Duval, Alexandre Premat and Nicolas Lapierre
Great Britain - Robbie Kerr and Alex Lloyd
Lebanon - Kalil Beschir and Basil Shaaban
Malaysia - Alex Yoong
Mexico - Luis Diaz, Memo Rojas, David Martinez and Salvador Duran
Netherlands - Jos Verstappen and Jeroen Bleekemolen
New Zealand - Jonny Reid and Matt Halliday
Pakistan - Adam Khan
Portugal - Pedro Lamy
South Africa - Stephen Simpson and Thomas Scheckter
Switzerland - Neel Jani
USA - Jeff Simmons

[bretm]

I wonder what will last longer, this or the ABC show Extreme Makeover. This whole series just seems like a Nickelodeon game show. We really need to end our oil dependency...

[djs308]

Sounds a lot like the IROC series. Is that still around?

[Jameel]

I hope the series does well!

[writerguy]

Originally Posted by djs308

Sounds a lot like the IROC series. Is that still around?

Nascar runs it sort of with old Firebirds